“It is not well for a man to pray cream and
live skim milk.”
A
quote by Henry Ward Beecher (1813 –1887). He was an
American clergyman, social reformer, and political speaker known for his
support of the abolition of slavery and his emphasis on God's love. This quote
is esspecially noteworthy as Mr. Beecher, in1875, suffered a trial for his affair
and adultery. I’m sure this man had presonal experience with his now famous
quote.
Years ago I worked for a man who asked me to add his astranged
wife to our company medical insurance policy. I filled out the paperwork and
asked her to sign it. She read through the form and noticed I’d left the marital
status unanswered. When she asked me why I told her I knew the answer but she
would be the one signing the form stating everything on the form was true. She answered the question truthfully and was
disqualified for the coverage. My boss was outraged because he would now need to
buy a private policy for her that was triple the cost. He had placed value in
saving money instead of being truthful.
In Luke 16:15 (NIV) Jesus said,
“You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows
your hearts. What people value highly is detestable in God’s sight.”
Just before this
verse Jesus was telling the parable of the shrewd manager. Basically, a story
of an owner who praised his manager for cheating him of profits because it
showed his shrewd way of thinking. Backwards, right? Jesus also says the
following in the same passage:
10 “Whoever can be
trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is
dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. 11 So
if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you
with true riches? 12 And if you have not been trustworthy with
someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?”
From this parable we
can apply Mr. Beechers quote and ask ourselves, do our lives match our prayers?
God is faithful to His promises, but are we?
The world will pull
us and prod us to take the easy way and compromise our values. My former boss
would have treasured my willingness to commit insurance fraud for his gain, but
what would God have thought of my action and how would that have hindered
future usefulness He would have had for me? Eventually, I would think my boss would have
wondered if I was willing to commit fraud for him would I, like the pharasees
did God’s people, fraud him as well? My actions would have actually hurt my
future instead of moving it forward as it might have seemed in the moment.
Before we get the cream
of life we will need to live in a trustworth manner instead of giving God our weakest
efforts. Making cream is hard work and so is living a Christ-like life. It
takes commitment and standing up for what is right. We have made a commitment to God and that has
to come first and remain above all.
**Lord, may my prayers be found sweet to your ears. Help me every day to live a life pleasing to
you. Forgive for compromising to the ways of the world instead of choosing the
life found in your truth. I declare again today my commitment to you. I
open my life so you can show me where the skim milk actions are and where I
need to be like-minded with you. Today I dare to pray cream. **
Click this link to
learn the proper way to milk a cow - https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=A0_9lHwDe40
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